Don Jon is like a college students psychological final essay on pornography and the effects it may have on a person or a relationship. That isn’t to say it doesn’t make some good points, because it does, but that’s all it is. A film sprinkled with bits of good points. There’s no real character development (there’s a bit but it’s very minor and subtle, which I praise actually because it’s almost more realistic that way; very rarely do people actually change in real life the way they do in films) and no real closure, and at times the film is meandering, aimless and unsure of where exactly it’s trying to go. It feels like Levitt wanted to make a film that really said something, but couldn’t find enough things to say that would warrant an hour and a half film that wrapped around those things.
That all being said, it’s a fairly confidently written/directed film from first timer Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and overall IS entertaining. It’s just another example of a trailer being better than the movie, and them knowing that and using the trailer to really fill seats. Guess it doesn’t work because there were only 6 people in the theater. The acting is pretty excellent, and the use of the sister was especially wonderful-I won’t give any spoilers-(especially Tony Danza and especially Scarlett Johansson) and the editing is god damned impeccable. I really hope whoever edited this film gets an award because it was phenomenal. All these things-and the overreaching conclusion that it is entertaining-do make the film a success. I just think it missed what it was ultimately going for. A lot of directors make a first film because they have something they want to say and that’s what it seemed like Levitt was going for. I just don’t think what he had to say was enough to fill an entire film. The subject matter was great but he got all his real points across in the first half hour or so through 2-3 minute voice overs.
He’s right too. Every single thing said in this film about pornography from his perspective is spot on, and I’m saying this as a woman. But the point that’s supposed to come from that is to find out what exactly is wrong with him that he likes porn better than real women. I don’t necessarily think (he even says a few times in the film “i don’t know what’s wrong with me” or some variant of) that there IS anything wrong with him because we’re human and we’re all different. That’s what makes us human is our differences. But apparently there’s supposed to be-as Julianne Moore points out-something wrong with him because you SHOULDN’T feel that way. It’s almost a tug of war. On one hand it seems as if the film wants you to root for Jon and his independence and love of freedom to watch pornography but on the other they want to make this statement that watching pornography ruins your idea of what a real relationship is.
And a few things he says are absolutely incorrect. As much as what he says about porn IS right, there’s some that’s not right at all. To say all women don’t enjoy some of the things that happen in porn or won’t do it (blowjobs, anal) is absolutely ridiculous. I have plenty of female friends who love doing these things, and if I myself weren’t a lesbian, I would too. Again, our differences is what makes us human. The film says some stuff very well and some stuff kind of poorly.
It isn’t that the film isn’t funny or isn’t serious enough to be taken in a serious manner. It does both things very well. It’s just that it didn’t know what to do overall, and a movie does need some sort of line to follow. I appreciate the realism involved (the small but subtle almost nonexistent character development and the lack of closure because people don’t change much and there really isn’t closure to a lot of things in life) but in the end…Don Jon unfortunately fails to live up to what I think they were aiming for, which was a great statement about pornography and relationships. Catch it on DVD or something.
FINAL GRADE: B
That all being said, it’s a fairly confidently written/directed film from first timer Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and overall IS entertaining. It’s just another example of a trailer being better than the movie, and them knowing that and using the trailer to really fill seats. Guess it doesn’t work because there were only 6 people in the theater. The acting is pretty excellent, and the use of the sister was especially wonderful-I won’t give any spoilers-(especially Tony Danza and especially Scarlett Johansson) and the editing is god damned impeccable. I really hope whoever edited this film gets an award because it was phenomenal. All these things-and the overreaching conclusion that it is entertaining-do make the film a success. I just think it missed what it was ultimately going for. A lot of directors make a first film because they have something they want to say and that’s what it seemed like Levitt was going for. I just don’t think what he had to say was enough to fill an entire film. The subject matter was great but he got all his real points across in the first half hour or so through 2-3 minute voice overs.
He’s right too. Every single thing said in this film about pornography from his perspective is spot on, and I’m saying this as a woman. But the point that’s supposed to come from that is to find out what exactly is wrong with him that he likes porn better than real women. I don’t necessarily think (he even says a few times in the film “i don’t know what’s wrong with me” or some variant of) that there IS anything wrong with him because we’re human and we’re all different. That’s what makes us human is our differences. But apparently there’s supposed to be-as Julianne Moore points out-something wrong with him because you SHOULDN’T feel that way. It’s almost a tug of war. On one hand it seems as if the film wants you to root for Jon and his independence and love of freedom to watch pornography but on the other they want to make this statement that watching pornography ruins your idea of what a real relationship is.
And a few things he says are absolutely incorrect. As much as what he says about porn IS right, there’s some that’s not right at all. To say all women don’t enjoy some of the things that happen in porn or won’t do it (blowjobs, anal) is absolutely ridiculous. I have plenty of female friends who love doing these things, and if I myself weren’t a lesbian, I would too. Again, our differences is what makes us human. The film says some stuff very well and some stuff kind of poorly.
It isn’t that the film isn’t funny or isn’t serious enough to be taken in a serious manner. It does both things very well. It’s just that it didn’t know what to do overall, and a movie does need some sort of line to follow. I appreciate the realism involved (the small but subtle almost nonexistent character development and the lack of closure because people don’t change much and there really isn’t closure to a lot of things in life) but in the end…Don Jon unfortunately fails to live up to what I think they were aiming for, which was a great statement about pornography and relationships. Catch it on DVD or something.
FINAL GRADE: B
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